What’s the endgame? The question rages on in almost everyone’s mind. Where are we exactly heading? Is not the political setup installed, through sham elections, a sure recipe for a colossal disaster? Is not the experiment a political non-starter? On a prime facie basis, at least that seems to be the case.
Remember, the time of ‘cobbling up’ the political setup at the centre. Though the favoured powers this time, and their primary sponsors, were expecting entirely different results in the elections, they were stunned by the silent coup carried out by the wider citizenry that made them struggle hard in the quest of finding a viable political setup at the centre. The intense public-infused moral pressure further made the task difficult. There were reports of the primary beneficiary declining to accept the government at the centre. Nevertheless, it had to. The political field was set for them. The thing that it could not perform is a topic for another piece.
Reflective of the reports, in a late-night press conference and visibly everyone feeling distraught, the ‘coalition of the willing announced’ that they had reached a formula on forming the government. All else they talked about was ‘PM would be from PML(N)’, ‘President Zardari would be their joint candidate for the presidency.’ The press conference in itself reflects the scheme of things to follow. The future looks bleak.
For one, the public is not the concern. Had they been a concern, the PML(N) would have gracefully accepted its defeat after shamefully collaborating in the political persecution and making to pass the real winning party and its supporters through all kinds of trials and tribulations. They did not stop at that and reached the Election Commission asking for a share in the reserved seats of the SIC. They do not represent the public. Nor does the public care much for them. Their concern is for seeking political rents and they are getting it. For the time being.
Second, their sponsor would not remain in the position forever. The position had to be vacated sooner or later. What happens after that is for anybody’s guess. If the new Chief comes with a new agenda and decides to wind the clock back (or forward), then what would become of the installed political setup? A couple of jolts, behind the scenes, would spell its doom. Not that they are not aware of the tragic reality, but in the lust of power, they are comfortably disregarding it.
Pakistan is dangerously going down a path of descent. The famed 1971 elections spelled the doom of a once united Pakistan; the imposed political set-up, in the wake of the 2024 elections, portends something much darker. The imposed political set-up can’t not be a panacea for all the frailties Pakistan is afflicted with; it might well just exacerbate them. It is an experiment in a vacuum.
Third, sooner or later, their primary competitor and the hearts of the teeming millions, Mr. Imran Khan, would have to be released. The political nature of the cases coupled with the false and faulty proceedings provides enough ground for their reversal when they are presented for adjudication in the higher judiciary.
Known for political agitation, he is certainly going to make it hard for the ruling coalition to govern the multitudes of the people utterly opposed to them. Quite rightly, a number of political commentators are prognosticating the ‘release of Mr Khan” as the death warrant for the ruling coalition at the centre.
Last but not the least, later this year, American presidential elections are to be held. There are fair chances of a president, opposed to the establishment’s interference in politics, of getting elected. He might just order the review of the American policies (its apparent endorsement of the election results, and in their wake the establishment-backed political set-up), in which case, the political set-up would be left with no other option than to vacate. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous. Pakistan might well go bankrupt. We obviously can’t afford it.
In one way or the other, the political set-up installed at the centre does not present a rosy picture. It might well just crumble down under the weight of its own contradiction, leaving aside, for a moment, any external influences to start factoring in.
Moreover, the experiment is not good for democracy. Millions of young voters came out, for the first time, to vote for their preferred candidate. They have made apparent their preferences. They have chosen democracy over autocracy. Pakistan belongs to them. They have to come forward and take it reigns in the coming years. The political set-up installed at the centre is an affront to their democratic aspirations. It might well shake their confidence in Pakistan and their future in the country. Their voices matter. They need to be respected.
Pakistan is dangerously going down a path of descent. The famed 1971 elections spelled the doom of a once united Pakistan; the imposed political set-up, in the wake of the 2024 elections, portends something much darker. The imposed political set-up can’t not be a panacea for all the frailties Pakistan is afflicted with; it might well just exacerbate them. It is an experiment in a vacuum.
